Specialized Hospice Care in Western Kentucky
HOSPICE CARE
HPC - Hospice and Palliative Care of Western Kentucky
is a specialized service that focuses on providing individualized care to help people live with dignity
through the final stages of life.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR
If you’re unsure whether your loved one is ready for Hospice Care, ask yourself some of the following questions. If you answer yes to any of these questions, please give us a call at 270.926.7565
- Has this person lost interest in things that they love?
- Has this person’s appetite significantly decreased?
- Has this person lost a significant amount of weight in the last six months?
- Does this person have more difficulty swallowing than they used to?
- Does it take this person a longer amount of time to eat less?
- Does your loved one require more assistance with their personal care or mobility?
- Has this person had increased shortness of breath and decreased mobility?
- Has your loved one decided to stop treatment?
- Has a doctor informed this person that there is nothing else that can be done?
WHO IS APPROPRIATE
Hospice is for anyone who is no longer seeking aggressive treatment with one of the following diagnoses, but not limited to:
- Heart Disease
- Liver Disease
- Lung Disease
- Cancer
- HIV/AIDSParkison’s Disease
- ALS
- MS
- Chronic Kidney Disease
- Parkinson’s Disease
- Alzheimer’s Disease
- Lewy Body Dementia
- Neuromuscular Disorders
PROVIDED SERVICES
HPC - Hospice and Palliative Care of Western Kentucky
offers the following services for its Hospice patients:
- Skilled Nurse: The nurse educates the person on the disease progression, pain and symptom management, and physical support and provides education to the family or caregiver on how to care for the patient in the home. The nurse makes weekly visits based on the individual’s needs.
- Hospice Aide: A hospice aide assists with personal care and can do light housekeeping.
- Chaplain: The Chaplain provides spiritual, emotional, and grief support.
- Social Worker: The Social Worker provides the patient/family with resources that are available to them. The Social Worker also helps handle living wills, Power of Attorney paperwork, and they help with insurance, along with providing emotional support.
- Medical Director: The Medical Director is available as an attending or consulting physician for patients without a primary care physician.
- Heartford House: Hospice of Western Kentucky’s inpatient unit is a resource for patients qualified for General Inpatient, Respite, or Residential care.
- 13-month bereavement follow-up.
- 24-hour availability from a nurse.
DID YOU KNOW?
- Hospice is not just for people with cancer! More than one-half of hospice patients nationwide have diagnoses other than cancer. Hospice serves families coping with the end-stages of many chronic diseases, such as COPD and emphysema, Alzheimer’s, heart/cardiovascular, and neuromuscular diseases.
- Hospice is not only for the elderly! Hospice serves anyone with a life-limiting illness, regardless of age. Although the majority of hospice patients are older, almost 20% of hospice patients are under 65 years of age.
- Hospice is not just for the patient! As a family-centered care concept, Hospice focuses on both the grieving family and the dying patient. And once the patient has passed, Hospice stays available for family members, offering them bereavement services, free of charge, for 13 months after their loss.
- Choosing hospice does not mean you are giving up hope! When death is in sight, there are two options: submit without hope or live life as fully as possible until the end. Hospice helps families see how much can still be shared at the end of life through continued personal and spiritual connections. This is why so many family members look back with gratitude upon their hospice experience.
- You CAN keep your doctor! Hospice physicians work closely with the patient’s doctor to determine a care plan
DNR & LIVING WILL FORMS
People researching hospice and palliative care services often need to review information regarding living wills and DNR orders. Please click on the attachments below to access the Kentucky Living Will Packet provided through the Kentucky Attorney General’s office and the Kentucky Emergency Medical Services Do Not Resuscitate Order. Refer to these documents for further information, and feel free to print them for your use.
Medicare, Medicaid, and many private insurance companies cover the cost of hospice care. If a patient does not have a hospice benefit, they can still receive the same compassionate services from HPC - Hospice and Palliative Care of Western Kentucky. No one is ever turned away from hospice care due to the inability to pay.
If you believe you or someone you love could benefit from the excellent hospice care provided by HPC - Hospice and Palliative Care of Western Kentucky, please call us at 270.926.7565 or 1.800.466.5348 to see how we can help.
